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Bridging St. Claude for All Users University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO Planning and Urban Studies Reports and Presentations Department of Planning and Urban Studies 5-9-2012 Connect the 9: Bridging St. Claude for All Users Earthea Nance University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/plus_rpts Part of the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Nance, Earthea, "Connect the 9: Bridging St. Claude for All Users" (2012). Planning and Urban Studies Reports and Presentations. Paper 13. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/plus_rpts/13 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Planning and Urban Studies at ScholarWorks@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Planning and Urban Studies Reports and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Connectthe 9 Photos by Kirk Hunter Bridging St. Claude for All Users MURP 6720 | Instructor: Earthea Nance, PhD, PE, CFM | May 9, 2012. Shani Armbruster | Emilie Bahr | Molly Brackin | Jonathan Dodson | Lawrence Guimont IV | Kirk Hunter | Kimberly Hymel | Mariana Marmol | Sophie O’Neill | Nikolaus Richard | | Jonathan Rutherford | Aaron Ryan | Melanie Sand | Scott Weston. Acknowledgements Ct9 would like to thank the following people for dedicating their time and expertise toward informing and refining this project: Jim Amdal, a senior fellow and research associate with the Merritt C. Becker Jr. University of New Orleans Transportation Institute. David Eber, resiliency coordinator at the 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development (CSED). Louis Haywood, complete streets manager for the City of New Orleans’ Department of Public Works. Earthea Nance, assistant professor in the Department of Planning and Urban Studies at the University of New Orleans. Anneka Olson, Lower 9th Ward resident. Shaila Parker, masters in public health candidate at Tulane University. Matt Rufo, bicycle and pedestrian planner, program manager at Tulane University’s Prevention Research Center. Jennifer Ruley, PE, bicycle and pedestrian engineer with the Louisiana Public Health Institutue, advisor to the City of New Orleans. Tara Tolford, research associate with the Merritt C. Becker Jr. University of New Orleans Transportation Institute. Darryl Malek-Wiley, environmental justice coordinator with the Sierra Club. Thanks also to members of the St. Claude Bridge Safety and Access Committee, who first brought the challenges entailed in crossing the bridge to our attention, and to all who participated in surveys, interviews and who otherwise engaged with us on ways of improving access across the Industrial Canal. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Executive Summary 2 Who is Responsible for the Bridge? 3 Methodology 4 Existing Conditions 5 Bridge Background 6 Auto Domination 7 Well-used Waterway 8 Bicycling Across the Bridge is Dangerous 9 Walking Hazards 11 Existing Conditions Lead to Accidents and Crime 13 Bicyclists and Pedestrians Frequently Use the Bridge 17 Why are People Crossing by Bike and by Foot? 19 Inadequate Bus Stops 20 The Neighborhood 21 Jobs and Amenities 22 Case Studies 23 Morrison Bridge, Portland, OR 23 Bay Farm Island Bike and Pedestrian Bridge, Alameda, CA 26 Recommendations 28 Recommendations for Immediate Action 28 Alternatives for Permanent Fixes 30 The New Bridge Alternative 30 The Retrofit Alternative 31 Recommended Alternative 34 Costs 35 Construction Costs 35 Environmental Impacts of Construction 35 Benefits 37 Transportation Benefits 37 Environmental Benefits 38 Public Health Benefits 39 Potential Funding Sources 40 Conclusions 43 Appendices 45 St. Claude Bridge Survey Appendix A | 45 Survey Instrument Appendix B | 47 St. Claude Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts Appendix C | 49 Zoning, land use, topography and flood zones Appendix D | 50 Meeting at RPC with NOPD Traffic Department Appendix E | 52 St. Claude Bridge Safety Meeting Appendix F | 53 Renderings of “The New Bridge Alternative” Appendix G | 55 Renderings of “The Rretrofit Alternative” Appendix H | 56 References 57 Introduction The St. Claude Bridge Safety and Access Committee (SCBSAC) enlisted Connect the 9 (Ct9) to assess the needs and challenges of and options for all users of the St. Claude Avenue Bridge, which connects the Upper and Lower 9th Wards across the Industrial Canal. Ct9 is composed of Masters in Urban and Regional Planning students from the University of New Orleans who have undertaken this project in conjunction with their Practicum in Urban and Regional Planning. SCBSAC is a group of Lower 9th Ward residents allied with the 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), an organization that promotes civic engagement and sustainable redevelopment in the neighborhood. Upper 9th Ward St. Claude Avenue Bridge Lower 9th Ward The Industrial Canal Figure 1: The Project Area–St. Claude Avenue Bridge. Map courtesy of GoogleMaps and Ct9. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY New Orleans ranks among the top cities in the country for walking and bicycling. Higher-than-average rates of active transportation are linked to important factors such as population density, historic neighborhoods, mass transit and park access, and also to the city’s low car ownership rates and the many residents who walk and bicycle out of necessity. For these reasons, providing for alternative modes of transportation is essential to promoting equal access to jobs and opportunity. The city’s number of cyclists and pedestrians is expanding, and New Orleans has invested significantly in the past few years in bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure. New Orleans’ first striped bike lane debuted in 2008 along three miles of St. Claude Avenue, connecting the Marigny, Bywater and Lower 9th Ward neighborhoods. But despite this investment, the St. Claude Avenue Bridge poses a dangerous and unjust obstacle to connectivity for non-motorized users, especially for residents of the Lower 9th Ward who rely on the bridge for access to jobs and amenities on the opposite side of the Industrial Canal in the core of the city. In this report, Ct9 explains these challenges and offers alternatives for making it easier, more inviting and safer to cross the St. Claude Avenue Bridge. As part of our analysis, Ct9 considered the following: • Existing conditions available to bicyclists and pedestrians in crossing the St. Claude Avenue Bridge; • The demographics of the Lower 9th Ward, and concentrations of jobs and amenities; • Existing and potential demand for non-motorized crossing of the bridge; • Questions of land ownership, responsible agencies and operational jurisdiction related to the bridge and proposed improvements; • Precedent examples of places that have successfully adapted bridge crossings to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and safety; • Solutions that facilitate pedestrian and cyclist passage; and • Costs and benefits of proposed solutions. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The key finding of this study is that improving accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians across the St. Claude Avenue Bridge would increase public health, safety and equity. • The St. Claude Avenue Bridge is the only reasonable option for residents of the Lower 9th Ward without cars to get across the Industrial Canal to the core of the city, yet it is equipped with difficult-to-use and dangerous accommodations for non- motorized users. People crossing by bicycle and foot are unnecessarily vulnerable to accidents and crime, both of which serve as deterrants to walking and bicycling across the bridge. But because commerce, jobs and amenities are concentrated on the Upper 9th Ward side of the Industrial Canal, it is virtually impossible to live in the Lower 9th Ward without crossing regularly. • Despite the existing access challenges, people are still biking and walking across the bridge in strong numbers. Over the course of a two-day, 20-hour bike and pedestrian count, Ct9 observed almost 500 people crossing the bridge by foot or by bike. Users report they are crossing the bridge for all variety of reasons, including getting to work, school and taking care of other daily necessities. • The Lower 9th Ward is substantially poorer than the city as a whole and the area around the St. Claude Bridge is characterized by significantly lower car-ownership rates than is true for the city at large. Close to half of residents in the area surrounding the bridge do not own cars. • The safety and accessibility of bus stops located on the bridge are inadequate. Getting to the stops on the elevated section of the roadway requires the use of steep stairways that fail to meet standards outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are difficult for anyone with mobility challenges or on bike to use. The stops on the bridge are some of the lesser-used of the St. Claude bus line, which is overall one of the best-performing in the Regional Transportation Authority’s bus system. • For the above-stated reasons, providing better accomodations for non-motorized users is in the best interest of public health, safety and equity and could potentially increase bicycling and walking substantially. 3 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BRIDGE? Figure 2: Ownership, maintenance and operation of key areas around St. Claude Ave. Bridge. Map courtesy of GoogleMaps and Ct9 Finding | The Port of New Orleans owns and operates the St. Claude Avenue Bridge, but there are seven other primary agencies involved with bridge operations and oversight or that have a vested interest in the
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